This invention relates to a dough forming machine, and in particular to a bagel forming machine which forms elongated rolls known as bagel sticks. The invention provides a modification to known machines for producing circular rolls, such as bagels, so that the rolls produced are not circular, but in a stick form.
Machines for forming bagels are known. In a traditional such machine, a motor driven circulating looped belt is provided with a horizontal top surface. The belt is wrapped around an idler drum and a drive drum. At a first end of the machine, a pressure plate having a downward arcuate surface toward the belt is provided slightly elevated from the top surface of the belt. A dough guide plate is provided upstream of the pressure plate. When an incremental amount of dough is placed onto the belt, the belt carries the dough beneath the pressure plate which causes the incremental amount to roll and elongate into a solid cylinder shape. At approximately the mid-span of the top surface of the belt is arranged a forming tube having an inside diameter approximating the outside diameter of the desired bagel shapes. The forming tube has a V-shaped cut-out at a top side thereof. A mandrel with an outside diameter approximating the diameter of the central hole of the bagel is mounted axially through the forming tube.
The lateral edges of the belt are wrapped upward into a circular shape corresponding to the inside diameter of the forming tube, guided into the forming tube by the V-shaped notch. The belt passes through the forming tube while in the circular shape and once it exits the forming tube, the belt flattens back down into a flat horizontal profile. Before returning to the first end of the assembly, the belt extends above a rotary table for receiving the finished product which drops off the belt. The rotary table could also be a further belt or other product receiving station.
The forming tube typically comprises two half circular sections with a seam located on a top side of the tube. The tube also provides a V-shaped notch at the top at the upstream axial end thereof. The V-shaped notch guides the lateral edges into the circular shape to pass into the forming tube. It is known to fixedly fasten an arcuate shield piece to partially cover a central area of the V-shaped notch and to guide excess dough into the circle formed by the belt wrapped into the tube.
The incremental amount of dough is pulled by the belt through the forming tube, where the elongated piece of dough wraps around the mandrel. The dough rolls between the belt and the mandrel into a uniform annular bagel shape with the portions of the dough piece which had been the free ends being pressed against one another so as to form a seamless circle.
Another type of roll known as the bagel stick is formed of the same dough. A bagel stick is not shaped in a continuous circle, however. A bagel stick is elongated and generally straight. It is known to modify a traditional bagel forming machine so that it can also be used to produce bagel sticks or smaller pieces of dough.
The known modification provides an elongated fin secured to the mandrel. The fin extends radially from the mandrel toward an inner wall of the forming tube. Such a prior art embodiment is illustrated in FIG. 5. The fin 226a does not extend completely to the forming tube 48, but is separated therefrom by a gap. Edges of the belt 26 can touch or overlap within this gap.
Other examples of prior art include U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,357,663 and 3,862,818 relating to finned dough mandrels for severing a dog piece in one or more places.
The mandrel in a traditional bagel forming machine is desirably vertically adjustable. This adjustment is provided so that a non-uniformity or lopsidedness in the bagels or bagel sticks can be corrected. In a traditional bagel stick forming configuration, axial adjustment of the mandrel can cause a widening of the gap between the fin and the forming tube.
The gap is undesirable, as it collects dough or leave an undesirable indentation on a bagel stick. Accumulations of dough in the gap can result in misshapen bagel sticks or undesirable globules of dough which can stick to the belt or other parts of the machine. Such undesirable accumulations worsen as the gap is widened.
It is known to minimize the gap by extending a fin from the mandrel to the belt. Such a configuration is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,862,818. However, this configuration results in impeded adjustability of the mandrel within the forming tube.
Therefore, it is desirable to provide an improved bagel stick forming device which can be used to modify a traditional bagel forming machine. Furthermore, it is desirable to provide a bagel stick forming device which overcomes problems associated with a gap between the fin and the forming tube. Moreover, it is desirable to provide a bagel stick forming device which allows vertical adjustment of a mandrel without causing unwanted dough accumulations.